Shabbat Prayers: Imrei Emet: Havdalah: Taking It With Us

“Our Father, our King, beginning for us the days approaching us for peace, free from all sin, cleansed from all iniquity, and attached to fear of You.” The verse in Isaiah (33:6) says, “The faith of your times will be the strength of your salvations, wisdom and knowledge.” There are six levels listed in the verse so far: Faith, Times, Strength, Salvations, Wisdom, and Knowledge. These six correspond to the Six Days of Action. The verse concludes, “Fear of God: that is man’s treasure.” This phrase refers to the Sabbath, for Awe of Heaven is the vessel that can receive blessing  (Shabbat 3a). The Shabbat brings blessing and strength to this Six Days of Action, so that they can extend the Sabbath holiness to create a life that is a Unified Day of Shabbat.

And so we pray as the Shabbat ends, “Please grant us a week that is free from all sin, cleansed from all iniquity and attached to fear of You,” For the Sabbath adds the element of Awe of Heaven to the remaining six days of the week.